Job network newsjacks Malaysia Airlines flight disappearance

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is a story that has been front-page news for weeks now as officials continue to struggle to find the missing plane. (The recent revelation that the plane was carrying flammable lithium-ion batteries is a wrinkle that could worsen the crisis for the airline.)

Odds are that quite a few brands have been tempted to connect their marketing emails and tweets to the mystery (and likely tragedy) but thought better of it. At least one brand, the sports job network TeamWork Online, didn’t reach that second step.

Last week, Unmarketing President Scott Stratten tweeted this screenshot of a TeamWork Online email newsletter:

Many of the responses to the tweet were people simply saying, “Wow,” and one respondent refused to believe the screenshot was real. TeamWork Online confirmed it, though, with a Twitter apology directed at Stratten:

@unmarketing We meant no disrespect. Within minutes of noticing this we changed reference in the email

One reply to Stratten’s tweet from Heather MacLean, CMO at TaylorMade Solutions, insists that the email shouldn’t be considered newsjacking, because it is “wrong on so many levels.” Stratten replied that it’s clearly newsjacking, simply done wrong.

Another respondent, as folks on Twitter so often do, jokingly picked up the trend and ran with it:

@unmarketing Malaysian 370 may have crashed into the ocean. Is your mortgage underwater? Do a refi today and save your home.